In the End
by Imidgery
Summary: "I love you I hate you I can't get around you I breathe you I taste you I can't live without you I just can't take any more this life of solitude I guess that i'm out the door and now i'm done with you" When the whole world has gone up in flames, and everything seems to be crashing down on them, can Arnold and Helga get through the end of it all?
1. Chapter 1

"Mrs. Shortman." Helga heard a familiar voice almost sing. She just grumbled in her sleep, rolling over.

"Helga." She heard him coo again.

Suddenly a gentle hand touched her cheek and a slightly wet kiss was planted on her forehead. "Wake up sweetheart."

Helga sat up quickly, almost head butting Arnold in her half dazed stupor. "I'm awake, I'm up." She slurred, stretching and sending her arms above her head almost whacking Arnold in the face. After two years of marriage, he had learned to dodge sleepy Pataki punches.

He sat down next to her while she still started waking up, graciously taking the warm coffee from Arnold's hand and sipping it. "Sure my dear wife, that cup of coffee was most definitely for you." He snorted.

Helga did not even acknowledge his remark, to his amusement. "Good morning." She said, finally starting to wake up a little bit.

Arnold smoothed the straggling hair behind her ear and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning hun, I just wanted to wake you up before I left for work. What do you want me to bring home for dinner?" He asked, taking the now empty coffee cup from Helga's grip.

"Uhm…" She said, still a little sleepy. "I'm not sure yet babe, I'll call you when I know, okay?" She looked up at him and he smiled, she looked so precious to him when she first woke up with her slight bags under her eyes, her messy wild hair, and her sports bra with her shorts (Arnold obviously did not mind the small amount of clothes).

"That's fine honey." He looked at his watch before starting to hustle around the room. "I'm going to be late if I don't hurry." He started looking for his favorite tie that Helga had bought him last Christmas.

"You always say you'll be late and you're always fifteen minutes early." She teased.

"And I'd like to keep it that way thank you very much!" He kept searching, when he noticed that Helga had something in her hand. It was the tie he was looking for.

"You really love watching me squirm, don't you?" He teased, slowly walking back over to the bed, wondering what exactly Helga had planned. She never just had his ties in her hand to be helpful.

"What?" She smirked. "I just found it, I swear." She waited until he made it next to the bed, sitting up on her knees so she could be closer to his height.

"Uh huh, sure you were."

"Let me tie it, I'm better at it than you anyways." She looped the tie around his neck and began tying it.

Arnold watched her intently as she worked her fingers quickly around the knot. She really could tie them faster than him. He felt his head fling forward when Helga pulled rather hard on the tie, bringing him towards her so she could kiss him.

Arnold smiled before taking her face in his hands and deepening the kiss.

After a moment, Helga's frisky hands made their way towards his tucked in shirt. He took her hands off of his waist just as she was beginning to work his shirt untucked from his pants.  
>"You're no fun." She whined, plopping back onto the bed in a huff.<p>

"We can continue this venture when I get home." He teased, kissing her on the nose before walking over to the bedroom door. "I love you, Helga." He look at her, smiling.

Her head perked up with a small smile on her face. "I love you too, football head."

Arnold just laughed before shutting the bedroom door behind him and heading downstairs.

On his way through the hallway, he smiled and waved to some of the tenants. Grandma and grandpa had left the boarding house to Arnold as a wedding gift to him and Helga, they were trying to get rid of it anyways so they could travel at their old age, and Arnold was quick to accept it since the newly-weds needed a home and this was so familiar to them. Unfortunately, none of the old tenants remained in the boarding house. Most of them had either moved or passed away early in life, like Mr. Kakashka. All Arnold knew about that was he had lost a gambling bet and wasn't heard from again. It seemed like Mrs. Kakashka wasn't too heartbroken though, since she remarried only a few months later and ran of with him to Fiji.

He snorted at the random memory, grabbing his overcoat on his way out. He knew that fall was coming to Hillwood with a vengeance this year so he decided to toss a light scarf around his neck as well.

Walking towards the hospital, he already had started receiving pages calling him to come as quickly as he could. Being what many considered the best ER doctor they had on staff, he was always the one they called – even if he was off. Arnold picked up his pace when the fourth page had gone off.

Helga sighed, wanting to fall back asleep. She finally had a day off after 14 straight days of working at the office. She had become head of security for a major health company and they had been working her to the bone, but the pay was worth it.

She finally decided to get up after almost another hour of laying sprawled out on the bed. She groaned, rolling off the bed and stomping down the stairs.

Most of the tenants were either off to work or in their room, so only two or three were out and about, giving Helga a little bit of privacy as she grabbed her plain breakfast of cereal.

She poured the milk and cereal, heading back upstairs to eat it.

By the time she got back into the bedroom, the cereal was almost gone. She pressed the button on the wall and the coach flipped out from the wall, Helga plopping on it the second it clicked into its proper place.

She flipped on the TV, surfing through channels on their rather large, new TV that Bob had bought them as a gift now that he owned "Bob's Electronic Emporium." Beepers were lost with the Walkman, and Bob decided to expand on the business, which was fine for Helga and Arnold because that meant almost free electronics.

"Are you smarter than a sixth gr-"

*click*

"No deal, or deal?"

*click*

"I KNOW HE'S THE FATHER-"

*click*

"-attacks are being reported-"

*click*

Hang on, that caught Helga's attention. She quickly fumbled back to the local news channel.

"-all over the country that people are roaming the streets, attacking random people and biting them for some unknown reason. Many of these claims have yet to be confirmed, however, we will keep you posted when more information arrives to our newsroom."

"Whoa, sounds like a bunch of druggies." Helga shrugged, picking some comedy off of the DVR as she finished her cereal.

Arnold hustled home as fast as he could, hoping everything at home was alright. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he practically sprinted home.

He flung open the front door and ran up the stairs two at a time before slinging the bedroom door open, it slamming against the wall.

"Hey babe." She looked over at Arnold, who was panting as he ran around the room in a whirlwind of grabbing clothes and stuffing them in two book bags. "You okay? Did you have a rough day?" She asked, confused.

"We have to leave Helga, _now._" He rasped, almost finished packing at this point.

"Why? What's going on?" It was then that she noticed the blood all over Arnold's shirt. "…Arnold? What's happening?" She was now getting nervous, Arnold never panicked.

"Something's happening Helga. I'm not sure what, or why, but people were getting up and biting others. People that were pronounced dead on the table." He breathed, still not able to believe it himself.

"What do you mean? What-"

"Helga! We don't have time for twenty questions! We have to go!"

Helga jumped, startled by his outburst before jumping up and throwing a pair of tennis shoes on.

Arnold grabbed her hand and they charged down the stairs and out the front door to a fury of sirens, screaming, and running people.

"Where are we going Arnold?" She asked, not trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"We're going uptown." He was almost yelling, it was hard to hear over all the commotion. "There's supposed to be an evacuation site there." His grip tightened on Helga's hand so that he wouldn't lose her in all of the frantic people.

Helga could feel a fire building up in her legs from all of the running, but it seemed to become numb the second they began seeing the flashing lights and the wall of military personnel guarding the city's exit. People were being scanned before being let through.

Helga and Arnold finally made it towards the front of the lines when they were abruptly stopped by more military.

An eerie, booming voice called over the intercom. "We are now only allowing women and children through the gates." It clicked off, offering no further information.

Arnold's heart dropped down through his stomach, and his skin began to crawl in fear for the first time since this started. He took a deep breath, everything seeming like it was going half speed as he gathered his composure.

He turned to Helga and took her other hand that he wasn't holding. "Helga, you need to go."

"What?" Helga yelped. "Arnold no, I can't leave you!" She whimpered.

Arnold kissed her, before a blood curtling scream nearby them jerked them away from each other.

A young woman slammed between them, being torn to bits in the neck by some unknown young child.

Now was his chance, Arnold grabbed Helga's shoulders and shoved her into the military line, who quickly scanned her and threw her into the other side of the barrier for transport.

Helga was crying now. "Arnold!" She screamed, being dragged by two men who tossed her into a crowded helicopter that began lifting with no hesitation.

She watched in horror as the child now had his eyes set on Arnold.

The last thing Helga saw of Arnold was him being knocked flat on his back by the crazed boy.

"ARNOLD!" She shrieked, banging on the glass of the helicopter until her hand began to bleed.

**(…. Soooo…. What do we think? I know it's a little different, and it sounded REALLY cool in my head! But now in text I'm a little iffy about this idea. This is a bit shorter than I'd hoped, but it was mainly just to get the idea out, so what do you guys think? Please let me know! If this idea doesn't take off like I hope, there's another story route that I want to take. And by the way, the next chapter of We All Need Saving is almost done! Yay! (: I'm so happy to be back everyone! Thank you all again for your patience!)**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Camp

"Arnold… ARNOLD!" Helga kept yelling, ignoring her bleeding hand as she banged against the glass. Her mind was reeling, and there was a fog in her head she just couldn't shake.

Did she just see her husband be attacked … _by a child?_ That was no ordinary kid, Arnold had gotten rather muscular since high school, and it would've taken a lot to bring him down to the ground the way that child did.

She finally noticed her bloodied hand and quickly wiped it on her shirt. She finally had stopped screaming Arnold's name, much to the relief of the rest of the frightened people on the helicopter.

Helga felt her heart start pounding as the helicopter got closer and closer to what she assumed was their destination. It looked almost like the old concentration camps from World War II. She could see the tight quarters of the people and the excessive military presence. It seemed like whatever was going on was everywhere, not just Hillwood like she had hoped.

The helicopter landed with a bump that sent Helga off her seat and onto the small empty space that was the only part of the floor of the helicopter that wasn't cramped with people.

A gentleman threw open the door, decked out in the country's finest military equipment, gun and all. He looked like he was gearing for war. Helga felt the pit in her stomach grow even larger.

Three other military men appeared and began escorting everyone out of the helicopter and filed them into a nearby building- well, if that's what you would call a building. It looked like a hard topped tent that was thrown up last minute. This whole place looked like it was thrown up in less than a day.

Once the military men finally stopped escorting them into the building, the large door shut. The man who was obviously the leader stepped forward. He looked like he had seen enough for everyone in the room. Helga didn't want to even imagine the places he'd been and the things he'd been through.

"My name is Staff Sergeant Jasper of the U.S. Army. I am the overseer of everything that happens in this refugee camp."

_Refugee camp?_

"You will address me as sir and you will follow the rules we have in place here. Breaking those rules will not be tolerated while you under my watch in this camp. Disobedience is cause for strict punishment that I assure you, you will not enjoy. Am I clear?"

No one responded, there were a few mumbles in the group, but no answer towards the Sergeant's question.

"I said am I _clear?_" He said in a more raised voice this time, causing a few people to jump. Everyone immediately agreed.

"Good. Now, I'm sure all of you are wondering what exactly is happening. And I will be perfectly honest with you."

Helga felt her heart racing. Maybe now she'd get some answers as to what happened to her husband.

She noticed the Sergeant take a deep breath, like he was preparing for panic. That couldn't be good.

"We are not entirely sure."

The small crowd grew much louder. People asking how they couldn't know, what kind of military didn't know what was happening in their own country, and why he was in charge. Questioning his job.

"Hey, you maroons!" Helga shouted, the crowd growing silent at the sudden outburst. "This guy sa_ved_ us, and you idiots thank him by acting like this because he doesn't have all the answers? Why don't you assholes just shut the hell up and let the man finish!" She huffed, the group staying quiet now.

Helga turned back around, facing the surprised military men. The Sergeant just watched her, before nodding in appreciation. She just waved her hand quickly, like she was saying "get on with it."

The Sergeant cleared his throat. "Now, that being said. We are working on finding out what exactly is causing these attacks on citizens." He paused. "In the meantime, breakfast is at 7:30 sharp, lunch at noon, and dinner at 18:00. There are showers in the facility, and you will shower every three days to conserve water."

There were a few frustrated groans at that last one.

"And lastly, you will stay out of the way of my men." He stated that last one rather sternly. He meant business with that one.

"Follow these few simple rules and your stay here will be as pleasant as we can make it."

The sergeant and his men began walking out of the building, the large metal door creaking as it was pulled open. Just then the sergeant stopped, like he had forgotten something. "Oh," He turned, looking at the group once again. "And you will stay away from the South gate." He stated slowly and forcefully. Helga's curiousity was peaked. What exactly was at the south gate that he clearly didn't want them to know about?

With that, the men left the building and the door remained open, allowing Helga and the rest of them to leave the building whenever they chose.

Helga wasn't about to stay here another minute, she stormed out, looking around in surprise at just how large this place truly was.

She turned, noticing a domed building past the sign that said _housing._ People were coming and going from it in short bursts. Helga decided to head there first to look at the sleeping arrangements.

She brushed past a few people standing outside of the entrance and stepped in, a little shocked at the relatively decent sized beds. _Arnold could fit in one with me…_ she thought, suddenly feeling like she was going to begin crying again.

Just as she began rubbing her eyes, she heard a voice she knew all too well, she felt her heart leap out of her chest.

"Helga?"

She whipped around, having to look a little downward to see her dear friend Phoebe staring at her a few feet away.

"Ph-Phoebe!" She choked out, the two running towards each other and colliding in a loud slap that sounded more painful than it did comfortable.

"I'm so happy you're here, I was so worried I would be alone here." Phoebe whimpered, then began to search the room for a moment. "Where's Arnold?"

Helga couldn't hold back this time, she let out a loud sob before hugging her friend again. "Oh Phoebe, he's gone. He was attacked while we were being evacuated from Hillwood!"

"Oh no Helga, I'm so sorry…"

Helga just stood there, hugging Phoebe for a few more moments in silence before letting go and wiping away the tears from her eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him Pheebs…" She whimpered.

Phoebe didn't say anything. What could she say? Her best friend since childhood just witnessed her husband get attacked and killed. She just reached out and gave Helga's hand a squeeze. "Come on Helga, maybe some sleep will do you a little bit of good."

Helga just nodded, plopping onto the first open bed they saw. She didn't think it'd be that easy to fall asleep, but surprisingly she fell asleep rather quickly.

The next morning, Helga tossed and turned. Why was her bed so uncomfortable? In a sleepy stupor, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

That was when she remembered. This wasn't her bed, and there was no Arnold beside her or nagging her to wake up. She took a deep, steadying breath to keep herself from beginning to cry before standing up from the bed. Her neck was stiff from the hard pillow.

"Morning Helga." Phoebe yawned, in the bed next to Helga's.

"Hi Pheebs." She stretched. "You hungry?"

"I could eat. Breakfast should be just starting."

"Well let's go see what kind of crappy food they've got here then." Helga and Phoebe started walking out of their new 'home.'

"Oh and Pheebs?"

"Yes Helga?"

"We should go see what's at the south gate."

"Helga, no!" Phoebe almost shouted, clearly aggravated with Helga's suggestion. "That man said specifically said not to go there!"

Helga looked at Phoebe, an eyebrow raised. "And when have I ever listened to what I've been told?"

Phoebe just stared at her friend for a short time, before sighing and shaking her head, knowing she was going to go to make sure Helga would be alright. "We are going to get in so much trouble…"

"I could use some trouble right about now."

***** Hey everybody ! yaaaay finally am getting this one running ! (: I'm excited for this one. I know this chapter was kind of boring, but believe me, next chapter is going to be J-U-I-C-Y! Wooohooo I'm already pumped about it! Do you think Arnold really died? Maybe he's zombified, maybe he escaped, or maybe he's deader than a doorknob! We'll have to find out! Have a great day everybody ! (: *** **


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